new work: Peace-Tied

[dragonlady7]

2

via https://ift.tt/2SA5Hdv

HA here we go.

Peace-Tied, on AO3, chapter 1 https://archiveofourown.org/works/32023453:

It’s November of 1272 and the Third Nilfgaardian war has ended. Temeria’s tenuously retained her independence from Nilfgaard under a Regency Council with Vernon Roche on it, trying desperately to keep the state together until Anaïs La Valette is old enough to rule it. One of the Crown Princess Cirilla’s first acts in power was to re-establish the Upper Aedirn Free State centered in Vergen as a Nilfgaardian vassal state, and Queen Saskia’s got Iorveth back in her government. There’ll have to be some negotiations to get the fragile peace in the North established, with so much bitter history between the players.

(I’m publishing this now because it’s kind of indirectly a prequel to Fit For Pearls and it’s going to lead into events that are going to tie in to either later chapters of Pearls or a sequel to Pearls. I promise there’s a method to my madness here.)

Neither of them had drawn a knife, still. Roche managed to get a breath past Iorveth’s forearm, somewhat gratified to hear the elf still wheezing from the blow to his midsection a moment ago.

“Now what,” Roche asked, trying to make his voice sound as normal as possible. “Saskia really going to let you kill me?”

Iorveth couldn’t kill him like this. Not without going for a knife, and if he let up on any part of Roche to do so, Roche would have a fighting chance again.

“Maybe,” Iorveth said.

“Gonna use your teeth?” Roche asked. “Or do you think you can keep this up long enough to strangle me?”

“Let’s find out,” Iorveth said, and leaned down on his forearm. Roche struggled, and managed to get his shoulder at such an angle that Iorveth couldn’t compress his windpipe.

“Gonna take a while,” Roche said, doing his best to make his voice sound normal and not at all strained.

credits are due to akilah12902 https://tmblr.co/mmG9gp3S698rFJImW-pcxgg for enabling, lore, and beta-reading, bittylildragon https://tmblr.co/mFZ-dyX2gnK2QUR8N-lH5pA for all of the above especially the beta-reading part, and laurelnose https://tmblr.co/mq54LIcK9Ujftei-4qS_V9A for inspiration and enabling, as well as a great many general blessings upon the denizens of various Discord servers, you know who you are. (Your picture was not posted)